


it felt as if we were the whole world just then

by arainyday



Category: Anne with an E (TV)
Genre: 19th century barn dance feels, Drabble, F/M, First Love, Mutual Pining, gratuitous use of the word 'gaze', romantic awakening
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-10-24
Updated: 2019-10-24
Packaged: 2021-01-02 02:04:44
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 541
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21153791
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/arainyday/pseuds/arainyday
Summary: Post dance practice, Anne wrestles with her growing feelings for Gilbert.





	it felt as if we were the whole world just then

**Author's Note:**

> So I started watching Anne With an E two weeks ago and I couldn't stop!! It's safe to say I'm in love with these characters, especially these two. 
> 
> This is the first piece of writing I've ever posted for any fandom so please excuse any typos or weird formatting, I'm very new at this whole writing stories thing lol.
> 
> Title comes from "The Selection" series by Kiera Cass, which I highly recommend if you want a good romance novel.

Anne had never felt so vulnerable yet comforted by Gilbert’s eyes on her, intense and unfaltering as they danced. 

Try as she might, Anne couldn’t seem to lift her gaze from him either, absolutely mesmerized by his every step. It felt as if something had shifted between them. 

Had he always been so charming, she wondered absentmindedly. 

Anne had been so lost in thought that the way Gilbert had grabbed her hand and pulled her out of line, spinning her in the process, had caught her off guard completely. 

Judging by the grin playing at his lips, he must have noticed her returning his gaze and taken it as a cue to make an advance. Stunned by his forwardness, all Anne could do was beam back. 

She hadn’t seen him smile so brightly since Mary’s sudden passing. She had forgotten how wonderful his smile was, so bright it could light up a room. 

It was fascinating the way a smile could change a whole demeanour. In that moment, for once, it looked like he wasn’t carrying the weight of the world on his shoulders. 

She knew how much Gilbert took on, the pressure he put on himself, to become a good doctor, to be there for Bash and Delphine after Mary. It was comforting to see him so carefree and lighthearted again.

Although the music had stopped and the dance finished, her and Gilbert had remained standing wordlessly, holding each other’s gaze. 

Shaking herself out of the trance of Gilbert’s eyes on her, Anne darted away quickly, practically jumping out of the front door of the schoolhouse. 

Gilbert’s piercing gaze and their hands clasped together had left Anne confused and overwhelmed by the intensity of whatever feelings she was harbouring towards him. 

Both Diana and Cole had subtly and not so subtly implied that Gilbert had romantic inclinations towards her in the past, but she’d never fixated on the idea very much. 

Since their first meeting, Gilbert had merely been an academic rival and eventually a good friend, but now…she wasn’t so convinced. 

She couldn't deny that she’d felt a small spark of electricity with him in the past, at Christmas dinner, after Bash and Mary’s wedding, but this was different, this time she couldn’t ignore it, the tension between them felt more palpable somehow. 

If Cole was right, maybe she was starting to reciprocate his feelings, and frankly that terrified her. 

Anne’s thoughts were interrupted by footsteps approaching behind her. It was Charlie. “May I walk with you?” He’d asked. 

She hated to admit it but she had half been hoping that it was Gilbert running after her instead, asking to walk her home. 

She knew that thought was ridiculous since he’d rushed out of the schoolhouse right after her and bolted in the opposite direction, much to her disappointment. 

Maybe Gilbert was regretting his advances, she reasoned, it was all happening so quickly. One minute, she was bickering with him and the next, she felt herself thinking that nothing had ever felt as right as her hand in his. 

Trudging along, Charlie beside her, Anne sighed, resolving to push whatever she was feeling for Gilbert aside, for now, until she could work up the courage to confront it.


End file.
